Chapter 48: The One Who Is Strong Is You
Natsume let out a confused sound, staring at Yumesaki with a look of utter bewilderment.
The Great Buddha fruit isn't strong? What kind of joke was this?
He had felt it firsthand during the clash just now; the Great Buddha fruit was immensely powerful, to the point where its strength could be described as absurd.
Huodou's attacks had been capable of tearing through Tsuchigumo's defenses and inflicting wounds, yet his own golden Buddha manifestation had withstood those same attacks repeatedly without sustaining the slightest scratch.
Furthermore, every time he threw a punch, it triggered a massive explosion, unleashing shockwaves akin to landslides and tsunamis.
If that wasn't considered strong, then what was? This was clearly overpowered to an extreme degree.
Yumesaki clarified: "There is one crucial point you've misunderstood, Natsume. The reason you feel the Great Buddha fruit is so powerful is because you yourself are already incredibly strong, Natsume."
Natsume couldn't help but freeze up in surprise. I myself am strong?
Yumesaki nodded toward Nero, who promptly deactivated the Aestus Domus Aurea, returning everyone to the apartment's living room.
Yumesaki settled himself onto the sofa, asking: "Have you forgotten that ordinary people are completely incapable of seeing yokai?"
Natsume replied: "Isn't it just a given that normal people can't see yokai?"
"Then why can you see them?"
Yumesaki's single counter-question left Natsume instantly speechless. He had been able to perceive yokai ever since he was a small child, knowing full well that he was different from normal human beings. However, as for the exact reason why he possessed this sight, Natsume had never truly looked into the underlying cause.
Nyanko-sensei spoke up: "The reason Natsume can see yokai is because he inherited Reiko's power."
"Exactly, that is precisely why." Yumesaki snapped his fingers. "This is the real underlying cause, Natsume. You inherited Natsume Reiko's power, meaning you possess an immense amount of Spiritual Energy circulating throughout your body. That is why you are inherently strong."
"It's just that no one has ever guided you on how to utilize this power, which has led you to constantly view yourself as an ordinary person."
"Whenever you cross paths with a yokai, your instinctive reaction isn't to fight, but to run away."
"You consider yourself an ordinary person, assuming you stand no chance against a yokai, but the reality is quite the opposite. If you could properly wield your own power, you would be just like Natsume Reiko, effortlessly taking down countless yokai."
Natsume couldn't help but turn to look at Nyanko-sensei. Was that truly the case?
Nyanko-sensei licked his paw, stating: "It's true. Natsume does possess a great deal of power. Unfortunately, there has been no one to instruct him on how to harness it, leaving him as nothing more than an ordinary human who sits upon a mountain of treasure without knowing how to spend it."
Hearing those words, Natsume couldn't resist looking down at his own two hands.
So, all this time, I possessed such immense strength?
Yumesaki continued: "The Great Buddha fruit acts as a switch. The moment you obtained it, your latent power finally found an outlet to be directed into, allowing it to be unleashed to its fullest potential through the fruit's form."
"Therefore, the one who is truly powerful isn't the Great Buddha fruit; it's you yourself, Natsume."
"Is that really true?" Natsume still found it difficult to completely believe.
Yumesaki let out a faint smile, then questioned further: "You fought to your heart's content just now, didn't you? But did you ever stop to consider one particular issue—where did you get the stamina required to maintain the Great Buddha form and fight relentlessly against my Shikigami?"
Natsume froze once more, a sudden realization washing over him.
Come to think of it, according to the mechanics of Devil Fruits, drawing upon their power heavily drains the user's stamina.
As for his own stamina, while it couldn't be described as terrible, it certainly wasn't exceptional either.
Running a hundred meters was manageable, but a thousand-meter run would definitely leave him gasping for breath, and he couldn't even guarantee being able to lift a heavy weight exceeding a hundred catties.
Yet, while transformed into the golden Buddha during the earlier fight, he had felt as though he had energy to spare, experiencing absolutely no sense of excessive exhaustion.
This was completely abnormal. It defied all logic.
He couldn't help but stare at Yumesaki, who readily explained: "Devil Fruits are highly unique. When a user doesn't possess any form of supernatural energy, unleashing the fruit's power will directly drain their physical stamina."
"However, if you happen to possess supernatural energy—whether it be Cursed Energy, Chakra, or Magical Energy—then that energy can be prioritized to fuel the Devil Fruit's capabilities instead."
"You inherited Natsume Reiko's traits, giving you an abundant supply of Spiritual Energy."
"So, during your clash earlier, what you were burning through wasn't your physical stamina, but your own Spiritual Energy."
"Because your Spiritual Energy is incredibly vast, you were able to trade blows with Huodou without holding back, even managing to claim the upper hand."
"If you didn't possess this incredible pool of energy, then based on your physical stamina alone, it would have been utterly impossible for you to suppress Huodou. The moment you unleashed a single punch, your stamina would have been instantaneously drained to zero, forcing you out of the Buddha state and causing you to collapse into unconsciousness."
Natsume finally understood. It was precisely because he possessed an inherent well spring of power that he was able to fuel the Devil Fruit in battle.
Without that pre-existing power, no matter how formidable the Devil Fruit might be, he would have had no way of drawing out its full potential.
It was exactly due to this reality that Yumesaki had emphasized that the true strength lay not within the Devil Fruit, but within himself.
Even so, Natsume remained profoundly grateful to Yumesaki.
He might indeed be inherently powerful and possess great latent strength.
However, without the Great Buddha fruit, he would have had no means of tapping into this strength completely.
Relying solely on rigorous training, there was no telling how many years it would have taken him to master this power—especially in a perilous situation where Hagoromo Gitsune could send assassins to take his life at any given moment.
The Great Buddha fruit that Yumesaki had given him was an incredibly precious lifeline.
With these thoughts mind, Natsume once again voiced his gratitude to Yumesaki.
Yumesaki couldn't help but roll his eyes, grumbling: "I absolutely detest dealing with people like you. Every two seconds you're offering an apology or a deep thanks; are you some kind of bowing fairy?"
What on earth is a bowing fairy?
Natsume wore a look of utter confusion. He desperately wanted to clarify to Yumesaki that he was expressing his gratitude rather than apologizing, but seeing Yumesaki's furrowed brow and impatient expression, he could only swallow the words that had made it to the tip of his tongue.
"Forget it, let's wrap things up for today."
Seeing that their business was effectively concluded, Yumesaki began gesturing for them to leave, adding: "Do not forget the agreement we made. In the future, if you happen to run into any of Hagoromo Gitsune's subordinates, remember to capture them and hand them over to me."
Natsume and Nyanko-sensei exchanged a brief glance, nodding in unison to seal the promise.
"By the way, where are you two currently staying? I'll send you back." Yumesaki inquired, making a motion as if preparing to open a door.
Natsume scooped Nyanko-sensei into his arms, answering: "We are currently residing with the Nura Clan."
"The Nura Clan?" Yumesaki's hand, which had been about to push open the door, froze mid-air. He looked back at Natsume in surprise. "How did you end up involved with the Nura Clan?"
Natsume looked down at Nyanko-sensei, who spoke up: "I happen to share a bit of history and friendship with Nurarihyon. After leaving the village, I brought Natsume along to seek shelter with the Nura Clan in order to evade Hagoromo Gitsune's pursuing forces."
"In this current era, there aren't many factions that possess the courage to openly offend Hagoromo Gitsune, but the Nura Clan is definitely one of them."
Realization dawned upon Yumesaki. He clapped his hands together, remarking: "That actually makes perfect sense. The Nura Clan and Hagoromo Gitsune have been at each other's throats since ancient times. With the two of you seeking asylum under the Nura Clan, you truly don't need to worry about Hagoromo Gitsune's hounds tracking you down."
He activated his Clairvoyance magic, scanning the surrounding region for a brief moment, and very quickly located the Nura Clan's headquarters.
He raised his hand, executing a forward pushing motion against the empty air.
A spatial gateway warped open, connecting directly into the heart of the Nura Clan's compound.
Meanwhile, at that exact moment inside the Nura Clan estate...
Nurarihyon was in the middle of hosting representatives from the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division, namely Yomi Isayama, Kagura Tsuchimiya, and Noriyuki Izuna.
The sudden materialization of the spatial gateway instantly drew the attention of everyone in the room.
Staring at the newly formed portal, Nurarihyon's overall expression didn't shift dramatically, but his brow twitched uncontrollably.
Was this for real?
This shouldn't even be possible.
What kind of place was the Nura Clan headquarters? It was his absolute stronghold. To prevent the heart of his territory from being breached by outsiders from within, Nurarihyon had personally erected countless barriers around the premises.
These barriers were layered meticulously, offering absolute protection to the Nura Clan estate from every conceivable angle.
Because of this setup, Nurarihyon had always been able to boast to others with immense pride that his headquarters was completely secure and impregnable, leaving zero opportunities for enemies to infiltrate from the inside.
Yet right now, an anomaly had occurred. A spatial gateway had opened up, utterly bypassing the complex array of Nura Clan barriers to manifest a doorway right before his eyes.
If it weren't for the fact that Madara and the young boy, Natsume, were standing at the opposite end of the portal, Nurarihyon would have already leaped to his feet, ready to strike down the intruder.
This was terrifying.
This development basically treated the Nura Clan's entire defensive grid as if it were non-existent.
What did this imply? It meant that as long as the opposing party desired it, they could launch an assault into the Nura Clan's inner sanctum at any given moment—they could even manifest right beside his futon while he was fast asleep and claim his head before he could wake.
Just dwelling on the thought sent a cold shiver down Nurarihyon's spine.
"What exactly happened?"
In the presence of external guests, Nurarihyon refused to lose his composure. He subtly suppressed the wave of dread churning in his chest, looking toward Madara and Natsume with a questioning gaze, while also eyeing Yumesaki who stood just behind Natsume.
Stepping through the portal while cradling Nyanko-sensei, Natsume spoke in a lowered tone: "Please forgive the intrusion, Supreme Commander. While we were out, we ran into a slight mishap, and a friend ended up escorting us back."
Nurarihyon looked down at the cat nestled in Natsume's arms.
Nyanko-sensei nodded in confirmation. "Indeed, a minor incident took place. Master Yumesaki was kind enough to bring us back."
Nurarihyon uttered an understanding sound, his gaze shifting fully onto Yumesaki. "Are you the one known as Yumesaki?"
Standing at the threshold of the spatial gateway, Yumesaki nodded, taking the opportunity to look over the Supreme Commander of the Nura Clan. His appearance closely mirrored his depiction in the manga, though he looked considerably older.
It was honestly difficult to imagine that during his youth, this individual had been an incredibly handsome and striking yokai.
Time truly was an unyielding blade.
"Since you are a companion of Madara, that makes you a friend of mine as well. Would you care to step inside for a cup of tea?" Nurarihyon lifted the teacup in his hand, extending a relaxed invitation with a smile.
Yumesaki shook his head, his eyes sweeping across Yomi Isayama, Kagura Tsuchimiya, and the others present before declining: "You seem to have other guests to attend to. Let's save it for another day."
The moment the words left his mouth, he promptly closed the spatial gateway.
Nurarihyon narrowed his eyes, asking with deep curiosity: "How on earth did you two get acquainted with someone like this Yumesaki?"
Nyanko-sensei leaped from Natsume's embrace, landing squarely onto the table.
"Don't even get me started on that. Today was just a streak of horrible luck; I unexpectedly crossed paths with that scoundrel Tsuchigumo out on the main road."
"Tsuchigumo?!" Kagura Tsuchimiya couldn't help but exclaim in shock. That was a legendary Daiyokai.
Yomi Isayama and Noriyuki Izuna exchanged a knowing look. Could the massive disturbance that occurred earlier today be connected to these two?
Nyanko-sensei's gaze settled entirely on Kagura Tsuchimiya. "Who exactly are these people?"
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